The Eye of the World
The Wheel of Time series, Book 1
Robert Jordan
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
Themes: Classics, Epics, Fantasy Races, Magic Workers
***+
Description
Rand al'Thor and his friends, prankster Mat and the blacksmith's apprentice Perrin, are pulled from their small town of Emond's Field into a conflict on which the very fate of the world depends. Dark forces reach out from the weakened walls of their prison in Shayol Ghul, seeking the reincarnation of the Dragon, the one man who can stand against them. In the company of Moraine, one of the feared and powerful lady sorceresses called the Aes Sedai, and Lan, her Warder of noble bloodlines, the three set out to the supposed sanctuary of Tar Valon, all the while trying to determine why the Dark One wants them. Also accompanying them are: Egwene, a girl from Emond's Field who might turn out to be one of the strongest Aes Sedai in ages; Nynaeve, the town Wisdom with untapped powers of her own; and the old gleeman Thom Merrilin, whose many-colored cloak hides more than his juggling balls and flute. With half-animal Trollocs, half-demon Fades, and all-too-human Darkfriends hot on their trail, not to mention the fanatical Children of the Light who are dogging their every step, it is a race against incredible odds, but one they cannot afford to lose.
Review
It's one of the biggest fantasy series of the decade. The late Robert Jordan was hailed as the next Tolkien, constructing a vast world of colorful
characters. At last count, there were eight books telling the tale of The Wheel of Time. There's even a line of swords based on those described in
the books, available through the catalog of Museum Replicas, Limited. So, when I found Book One in paperback and I had some time on my hands (the latter not
being a particularly rare occurrence), I decided to give it a try.
Having finished, I must confess that I'm a little puzzled. The story was decent, but I didn't see what was so spectacular about it. The characters were, for the
most part, believable, but I don't know that I'd call them excessively real. More than once, they were acting on stereotype or necessity of the plot rather
than out of character integrity. It came across as a standard fantasy world, following standard fantasy fare, to me. The story backtracked several times, and
I was often bored by the snail's pace of the plot. Perhaps one of the things that got to me the most was how the Emond's Fielders feared the One Power which
the Aes Sedai draw from, yet there was very little in the story to justify this, especially once they got to know Moraine and realized that she was working
with them. They continue to fear and fret about Moraine as she proves time and again that she is on their side, while something which everyone agrees is evil
is chasing them. Mindless superstition wears on me. If Jordan wanted to justify their fears, he could've at least told one of the countless stories they
mention in which the Aes Sedai are undeniably evil. Aside from hints of infighting among their ranks in Tar Valon, however, there was nothing to lend any
credence whatsoever to their persistent fear of the One Power. Of course, I'm one of those people who finds the myth of the "wicked witch" which modern society
perpetuates to be insulting, and the Aes Sedai prejudice smacked more than a little of such mindlessly repeated lies. I'm not saying that it was bad, and there
were some great parts. On the whole, though, I don't see why there's all the hype over this universe. I don't expect I'll ever feel a need to follow the Wheel
of Time on its further revolutions.